Christ Church Cathedral

The quiet grounds of the 1859 Anglican Christ Church Cathedral provide a welcome break in the commercial strip of rue Ste-Catherine. By 1927, the church’s slender stone spire was threatening to crash through the wooden roof and was replaced with the peculiar aluminium replica. Inside, the soaring Gothic arches are decorated with heads of angels and the Evangelists, but the most poignant feature is the Coventry Cross, made from nails salvaged from England’s Coventry Cathedral, destroyed by bombing during World War II. With the decline in its congregation, the cathedral authorities’ desperation for money led them to lease all the land around and beneath the church. For nearly a year, Christ Church was known as “the floating church” – it was supported on concrete struts while the developers tunnelled out the glitzy Promenades de la Cathédrale, a boutique-lined part of the Underground City. To fully experience the church, stop by on Sundays at 10am for the Sung Eucharist or 4pm for Choral Evensong. The church also features concerts throughout the year.